DIY mosquito traps can be salvation during hot summer evenings. Here are three home solutions that, with few ingredients, offer truly surprising results.
When the hot months arrive, one thing is certain: the mosquitoes do not forgive. Just an open window or a dinner on the terrace to find yourself being a target. But instead of going crazy with spray and chemical solutions, why not try something simple, natural and – why not – even a little creative? Yes, DIY traps can really work, and sometimes surprising how effective they are.
With materials that are already in the house, and a pinch of patience, the stings can be reduced a lot and recover tranquility. In some cases, it becomes almost a challenge: who manages to build the most effective trap with what he has in the kitchen? It is worth trying. Indeed, maybe it will also be fun.
DIY mosquito trap with bottle: the “fatal call” effect
There are those who swear three ingredients to take a lot of mosquitoes out: water, sugar and yeast. A trap that seems to have come out of a school experiment, and instead it works and how. Take a plastic bottle, cut it in half. In the lower part, they pour about 200 ml of hot water with 50 grams of sugar: a mixed and so on, until everything is melted. Once cooled, half a teaspoon of dry brewer’s yeast is added – yes, the one for bread – without mixing.
Then comes the most ingenious part: the other half of the bottle above is turned upside down, creating a kind of funnel. To make it work better, you can wrap with dark paper or a piece of aluminum: mosquitoes love shadow. The yeast, stopping the sugar, emits carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes as if it were an irresistible call. They enter … and they no longer come out. It seems magic, but it’s only chemistry.
Vinegar and detergent: the underestimated trap
There are solutions that seem too simple to be true, yet … they work. This is one of those. Two common ingredients are enough, of those who are always under the sink or in the pantry.
Two common ingredients, two minutes of preparation: that’s all. Two simple gestures that can really change the fate of a summer evening. Two immediate effects: attraction and capture.
It is not necessary to get too far, and not even dirty half a kitchenette. It is a solution that improvises itself in an instant, even while preparing dinner. Those who have tried often end up keeping a fixed one near the window. In addition, it leaves no strange or residue smells.
Here’s how to do it:
- Take a glass bowl or ceramic.
- Fill it with apple cider vinegar (preferably organic).
- Add a few drops of dishes for plates.
- Place it near a light source or a passage point.
The scent of vinegar attracts mosquitoes, but it is the detergent that makes the makeup: it breaks the voltage of the water, so the insects are unable to remain afloat and sink. Many think that this method only works for moscerini, but try to believe.
Bright anti mosquito trap with fan: a small tech project
For those who love to experiment, this is a perfect challenge. A more technological trap, but nothing too complicated. Just recover some objects – perhaps forgotten in a drawer – and assemble everything with a little inventiveness.
A USB fan is needed, even from an old computer. Then a light network (type mosquito net or gauze), any container, and a small LED light. The idea is simple: the light attracts the mosquitoes, the fan sucks them and the net blocks them. You can place near the bed, near a door, or where more bites are noted.
It will not be elegant, but those who have tried it hardly go back. Indeed, you often end up building a second one to keep in another room.
There is no perfect trap, but it is worth trying
Each house has its mosquitoes, its critical corners and its habits. There is no unique solution that goes well for everyone. But try – and maybe find out that it works – it is worth more than a thousand sprays with a chemical perfume.
Some find that yeast is a revelation. Others can no longer do without the bowl with vinegar. Whatever the favorite, the advice is only one: test, observe and adapt. And above all, stay on the natural.
Those who have never passed nights to chase a mosquito with the pillow in hand does not know what a relief means. And sometimes, it takes very little to recover your evening relaxation.
A bottle, a little sugar, and the desire to find home solutions.
Photo © Stock.adobe
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